MMA News

DALLAS – The fight game can change in an instant, and for Henry Cejudo, it’s taken just two fights to go from the man some pegged to dethrone flyweight king Demetrious Johnson to a fighter in desperate need of a win after back-to-back losses.

Cejudo (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will attempt to break out of his slump on Saturday when he faces Sergio Pettis (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in UFC 211’s main card pay-per-view opener following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass at American Airlines Center in Dallas. “The Messenger” has been a lifelong friend of winning after making a run to an Olympic gold medal in wrestling, then a 10-fight run of victories to start his career.

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“(It’s been) miserable,” Cejudo told MMAjunkie. “It’s a learning process. I lost to Demetrious. I know it was a close one with Benavidez. To me, I’ve just got to keep getting better. The competition is strong, and I have to reach those levels. I have to reach Demetrious Johnson. I think everybody sees that. That’s the guy everybody is chasing. Hate him or love him, that’s the dude that’s on top.”

The opportunity for Cejudo, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, to get back on track comes against No. 8-ranked Pettis. The 23-year-old younger brother of former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis specifically asked for the matchup with Cejudo, which is a bold career decision.

Cejudo, 30, admits he was taken off guard, but felt no offense by Pettis’ request to fight him. He’s just certain it will backfire.

“He’s the real deal,” Cejudo said. “He’s the one that asked for this fight. I accepted it. I was actually a little surprised. I figured he would go with somebody else, but he picked me. I think he’s a competitor. I know he’s confident, and I’m ready for everything.”

There’s good reason for Cejudo to be confident ahead of UFC 211. Online sports books have Cejudo tied as the largest favorite on the card. He doesn’t appear unsurprised by that fact, though, because he said the fight with Pettis is favorable to his style.

“I love competition – I love to compete,” Cejudo said. “He’s an extraordinary athlete. He’s a younger athlete. But I feel like my base, my style of fighting, it meshes very well with Sergio.”